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Do you want to win a free Kindle Fire? I bet you do! You can read about how below. But, before you enter, you should check out one of my fellow sponsors of this giveaway. Gord Rollo has a book called The Jigsaw Man. It sounds pretty epic and disturbing, so you should check it out. After, though, come back and follow the Rafflecopter directions to enter for a chance to win a free Kindle Fire.

A BROKEN MAN DOWN ON HIS LUCK…
Michael Fox is a homeless man living in a garbage dumpster beneath the Carver Street Bridge in Buffalo, NY. He’s bitterly depressed and ready to commit suicide; anything to put an end to his miserable existence.

AN OFFER TOO GOOD TO REFUSE…
When a mysterious billionaire surgeon offers Michael two million dollars for his right arm, he thinks his luck might be about to change. Little does he know that the surgeon has other plans for him. His arm is only the beginning. Bit by bit other pieces of Michael’s body are surgically removed; his natural body stripped away and then reassembled using other harvested parts from thirteen different ‘donors’.

A MODERN DAY FRANKENSTEIN…
Now Fox isn’t sure if he’s a man or a monster, or whether or not he’d be better off dead. One thing he is sure of though, he’s not checking out of this world until he finds a way to make the people responsible pay for turning him into the experimental nightmare known as… The Jigsaw Man.

Today on the blog, we have a cover reveal for Circus of Lost Souls by the amazing Rebecca Hamilton and Riley J. Ford. Sounds like it’s going to be a great read. I don’t know about you all, but I’m so excited to read this book. Don’t forget to sign up to be notified of the release and a chance to win a free copy of the book, too.

CIRCUS OF LOST SOULS

Cirque du Lune is killing off teenagers, but it’s all part of the act.

Or is it?

As the body count rises with each performance, one girl at this infamous theater-based summer camp finds herself contemplating what’s real and what’s not.

What if it’s not just a horror show, but a live snuff performance? What if the murders . . . are real?

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Sign Up For Release Notification — When you do, you are automatically entered to win a free copy of the book, and you will also have an opportunity to purchase the book at the new release discounted price. We will only email you once for these purposes, and your email from this list will not be used for any other reason at any other time.

The mother was distraught. Cain wasn’t sure she’d be able to work through the anguish.

His pain had dissipated. The pull that had started up again quit after the baby was freed and the afterbirth had splattered onto the floor. Cain was left teeter-tottering over the woman’s torn vagina.

Cain was breathing heavy. The room was silent except for the mother’s sobbing. A few seconds passed before the baby’s mouth opened and a wail escaped. The room stirred back into motion. Frowns turned upside down. The dad, invited to cut the birth cord, stepped through Cain.

And it was back.

The pain, the puncturing, the PULL.

Cain struggled. He flailed. He tried to grab a hold of the doctor’s shoulders, but his hands went right through the white coat. He turned around and tried swimming back toward the door, but he couldn’t get any momentum.

The pull was too strong.

“Where are you taking me?” he yelled.

He was fine before. Before the pain, he felt at peace. His skin stretched back now. Back to where the pull wanted him to go. Back toward the doctor and the woman and the baby.

The writhing red fetus let out another wail. The hospital room blurred, and Cain’s life began to stutter in front of his eyes, like an old movie reel discovered in a box in a basement and fingerprints and dust and other wear have made it barely viewable. Lacey blows out six candles on her Smurf cake. She is wearing a red polka-dot dress. Cain’s father’s funeral. Brie throws a rose onto his father’s coffin as it descends into the damp earth. His first promotion at Kline, Wendell, and Starsky. He and Brie are having amazing sex. Brie’s pregnant with Lacey. She’s dancing to Van Morrison in the living room of their old apartment. Things are going faster now. He’s at prom with the prettiest girl in school. He’s just a boy with a bike. A nurse wearing horn-rimmed glasses hands his clean, pink body to Nancy Emmerick. His mother screams. The picture fades. Cain can hear a flapping noise like his reel has just ended.

He was back in the hospital room. Not much time, or no time at all, had passed. The doctor still held the baby. The baby was still attached to the mother by way of the umbilical cord.

Cain was starting to break apart. The more he resisted the pull, the more pieces of his body split away. A light enveloped him; it felt like he was on fire. Small bits of glowing flesh and hair and muscle tore off and shimmied into the baby’s open mouth. Soon, bits weren’t even distinguishable, collected in a stream of free-flowing light entering the baby.

Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw that his legs were gone. Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw he had no midsection. Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw no chest.

Gone.

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Beck Sherman was born and raised in Massachusetts. Beck attended Syracuse University undergrad, has a master’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Westminster, London, and when not writing, enjoys exploring abandoned insane asylums and photo-documenting the things that go bump in the night, when they’re kind enough to pose. Beck’s first novel Revamp is available now on Amazon.

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Goodbye Nothing is out on September 3rd! Go on over and check out the BBF cover reveal happening now at DyingToWrite.

Halloween Re-romanticized

I love the supernatural. Halloween, spooky stories . . . what writer/creator doesn’t? There are basically no rules, and the built-in intrigue of the unknown leaves a whole unwritten world for an author to dabble in. “A Tale of Two Cemeteries” was my first publication, and my only piece of work that falls in the horror category. I wrote the story for a contest, with the only rule being that it had to be Halloween themed.

Despite it being in the horror genre, the thought of writing something gory, scary, or sad, never even crossed my mind. I wanted to write a comedy, something quirky that would stand out and be memorable. My mission: to re-romanticize Halloween. Thus, “A Tale of Two Cemeteries” was born, which reeks of spookiness and suspense, humor and action, without ever crossing over into the gory side of the supernatural. Do I really believe in the concept of Deadworld and ghosts working on the “other side” to haunt humans? Nope. But the point is, what if?

Author Bio:

Maren is a stay-at-home mom, part-time piano teacher, cosmetologist, and writer. Amidst the business of being a housewife, she loves reading, writing and playing music, vacationing, going on dates with her hubby and friends, throwing dinner parties, and sewing.

Maren’s published work includes a short comedy titled “A Tale of Two Cemeteries,” a middle-grade reader titled The Treehouse, and The Faith and Fate of David Ghent, a Young Adult novel. Recently her novelette, The Pastiche, won an award and was featured in the YA anthology, Wonderstruck released by Clean Teen Publishing. Find out more about Maren at http://www.marendille.com.

It’s 2012 in Deadworld, and the ghosts are hungry for a good human haunting. All Charlie Quinn wants to do is keep his cemetery in business and live a normal, honest ghost life. But Julian McNabb, the ruthless owner of the cemetery across the street, always seems to steal his business. All of that changes when a teenage pop sensation dies and joins Charlie’s cemetery, and Charlie discovers that Julian’s success has come by some costly means. It’s up to Charlie’s haunting company and their new employee to keep their business afloat, and stop Julian from taking any more lives.

The Faith and Fate of David Ghent

In the Lucen city dwell the descendants of Righteous and Fallen angels. Kept hidden from the rest of Earth and governed directly by Heaven, each descendant is given a chance to prove themself loyal to Heaven, and obtain salvation. For most, the task is encouraging and fair, but for David, it’s devastating.

David Ghent has waited twenty-one years to fulfill a prophecy foretelling the destruction of Lucifer’s power on Earth and Heaven, saving himself and the entire world from Hell’s power. His training is complete, the city prepared. As the battle commences, the city’s most beloved daughter, Layla, suddenly appears at the Hellgate. David is then faced with an impossible choice: fulfill the prophecy, or save her life. The consequences David faces after choosing Layla force him to question his entire life, and his loyalty to Heaven. As the aftermath of failure unfolds, David discovers that the real battle against Lucifer has just begun.

The Treehouse

Ten-year-old Artie and his friends love two things: Molly Martin, and baseball. They are terrified of exactly two things: Molly Martin, and Old Lady Farnsworth, Artie’s crochety elderly neighbor.

When their baseball is stolen by Old Lady Farnsworth, Artie and his friends embark on a secret mission to steal it back. But they can’t do that without the help of Molly Martin, and she’s got her own set of likes and dislikes. Join Artie and his friends on the greatest summer adventure of their ten-year-old lives.

Wonderstruck: The Pastiche

A punishment far worse than death awaits Alim Hamal. Sylin Incorporated has a special punishment for their rogue assassins: uncovering the darkest moments in their subconscious, then watching as they relive them through virtual simulation. Only one assassin has ever escaped. Alim plans to be the second. The simulation demands the truth, something Alim has kept from his employers at all costs. But as his final moments emerge, Sylin will discover that the truth is Alim’s most dangerous weapon.

Hi everyone! For today’s Blogger Book Fair guest post, we have an interview with Michael Brookes. It’s a pleasure to have him here with us, so give him a warm welcome, okay?

-Please tell us a little bit about your book.

A new entity is born on the Internet, if finds itself attacked by anti-virus software and security systems. It assumes the attack is deliberate and responds. Is it really a new being, or a more ancient evil born into a new realm.

Sarah Mitchell is an analyst for GCHQ and investigates some of the crimes committed by the entity, can she unravel the truth before it is too late?-You are a video game producer, which is really awesome. Please tell us a little bit about what you do.

Essentially I run the team that develops a game. At the moment I am working on Elite: Dangerous (elite.frontier.co.uk), the sequel to a game that got me into gaming in the first place some 25 years ago – which is pretty cool. I work with the game’s creator and the team of programmers, artists, audio and designers to design and put the game together. I’m also helping to setup the fiction for the world and will be writing the game’s official tie-in novel.-How did you decide to become an author?

It all started with reading. Reading the good works of many authors inspired stories in my own mind. I’ve enjoyed writing short stories since a young age, but a few years ago I wrote my first novel (The Cult of Me) and I’ve been hooked ever since.-How does working so closely with video games help inspire your writing?

My job involves a lot of writing and it needs to be in a concise form, that’s help me develop tight writing. Games also have their own consistent and unlike readers, gamers can often just explore the world you create, so that backstory and the setting becomes more important than is usually the case.-Who is your favourite author and why?

Ian M Banks is the author of my favourite novel – Excession. For me the book epitomises every thing that is great about science fiction. It’s based on a big idea – how do you react when faced with something so far advanced beyond you. A great novel and it’s sad that we’ll not see any more from him.-Is there anything special or exciting you are working on that you would like to share with us?

I’m in the process of putting together a short story collection entitled ‘An Odder Quintet’, it’s the second short story collection I’ve written (the first was ‘An Odd Quartet’) and I’m hoping it will be released by the end of August.

Faust 2.0

Is it the rebirth of an ancient evil in a new realm? Or something much worse?

A sexy looking avatar grants wishes for people across the web, but nothing is truly free, and for those who accept, what price must be paid?

Sarah Mitchell must discover the truth of this creature and stop it while it can still be stopped, but why is a mysterious lawyer dogging her every step?

About Michael Brookes

Michael Brookes is an Executive Producer with a leading UK games developer. Working in games and writing are two of his life passions and he considers himself fortunate to be able to indulge them both. He lives in the east of England, enjoying starry skies in the flattest part of the country. When not working or writing he can sometimes be found sleeping. Which is good as that is where many good ideas come from.

Other Books by Michael Brookes

The Cult of Me

The first book in ‘The Third Path’ trilogy.

For too long he dwelt apart, watched those who passed him by. With his unique abilities he entered their minds and inflicted terrible suffering upon them. They didn’t even know who he was. The game has lasted for years, but now the game has become stale. On an impulse he decides to make a final and very public last stand. After surrendering himself to the police he enacts his plan to seize the prison for his final bloody act.There he discovers that he’s not as unique as he once thought.

Conversations in the Abyss

Stealing Lazarus’s miracle gifted him immortality. Combined with his natural ability of invading and controlling people’s minds this made him one of the most dangerous people on Earth.

But the miracle came with a price. His punishment was to be imprisoned within the walls of an ancient monastery and tormented by an invisible fire that burned his body perpetually. To escape the pain he retreated deep into his own mind.

There he discovers the truth of the universe and that only he can stop the coming Apocalypse.

An Odd Quartet – Drabble Enhanced Edition

A quartet of dark short stories (10,000 words total) each with a twist in the tale. The drabble enhanced edition also contains some of my favourite drabbles (100 word stories).

The Yellow Lady
Grave robbing is a dirty business, in more ways than one. When he disturbs the grave from a childhood scary story he discovers it’s not always treasure to be found.This Empty Place
At the heat death of the universe, Death contemplates his existence.

Forced Entry
Terrorists seize an average suburban house. A Special Forces hostage rescue team is sent in and encounter more than they were trained for.

The Reluctant Demon
A young demon prepares to take his possession exam.

History of Vampire Hunters

We all know of Van Helsing and his cadre of vampire hunters. I loved them so much that I’ve created Van Helsing’s descendants in A Prescription for Delirium. Buffy was “the chosen girl in all the world to fight the vampires.” The Winchester brothers didn’t do a bad job when they faced off with the leeches as well. But these came from the myths and beliefs of the existence of vampires. Where people believed, there were hunters.

So several cultures, especially those in the Balkans had specialized vampire hunters for destroying the hellish creatures. The most famous were dhampirs, the sons of vampires and usually gypsies. If you like anime, think Vampire Hunter D, or if you like video games, think the Castlevania series. The dhampir was believed to have special powers in detecting and destroying vampires.

Usually a dhampir would start out in a village claiming he could smell something foul. He would attempt to locate the invisible vampire, perhaps by using the sleeve of his shirt as a telescope. Once he found the vampire her would engage and dramtic hand-to-hand fight or shoot it. When it was killed it usually smelled worse and sometimes there was a bloodstain. Yes, this sounds a bit spoony. (Oh, spoony means suspicious.)

The vampirdzhija or djadadjii of Bulgaria operated on a more traditional fashion. They would locate the grave that held the vampire’s body by using an icon or holy picture. Then they would impale the body or burn the body.

Now, Eastern Europe wasn’t the only region to be overtaken by the vampire craze. In the late 1800’s vampire kits were sold to superstitious travelers for their safety as they traveled through Europe. They contained bibles, crosses, stakes, silver bullets, and glass vials that contained concoctions that supposedly warded off vampires. One such was used in 1890, by a man named Andrew A. Kaufman. He used his kit to kill a vampire that had slain the woman he was betrothed to. He then wrote her mother, telling her he had vanquished the creature.

This wasn’t just at the beginning of the century. The Highgate vampire incident happened in London between 1967 and 1983. Sightings of a phantomlike entity were reported in the Cemetery of St. James in the Highgate area of London. This culminated with a girl claiming to be attacked in her room. These sightings caught the attention of Sean Manchester of the Vampire Research Society. Manchester claimed to come across a vampire who he sealed away. He continued his investigation for years until encountered the same vampire again. This time he performed an exorcism and staked the body. He then burned the remains, a slimy, foul substance, along with the coffin.

Know that even if the vampires have hidden in fiction, a few still know they are real. They are out there protecting you so you sleep at night.

A Prescription for Delirium

Ninety years ago, Gabriella di Luca promised to protect the family of her dying lover. She failed to keep that promise. She was too far away to stop the devil that murdered the eldest Van Helsing son. Years later, Gabby learns the devil has resurfaced. She arrives in Hampton, TX, determined to stop the devil before it can lay a bloody hand on the remaining three brothers.

However, madness is spreading through Hampton. She suspects the devil is using this madness to test a drug which has a side effect of demonic possession. Gabby rushes to end the source of the madness only to fall victim to it. For a woman cursed with eternal life, dying is no threat. However, Gabby must stop the devil’s plot or risk losing her most precious possession: her mind.

A Prescription for Delirium is
free during theBlogger Book Fair, July 22-26!
Get Yours Now:

About Noree Cosper

Noree Cosper loves writing about magic in the modern world. While growing up in Texas she constantly searched for mystical elements in the mundane. She buried her nose in both fiction and books about Wicca, Religion, and Mythology. Everyday became an adventure as she joined a group of role-players, acting out her fantasies of vampires, demons, and monsters living in the world.

She embraced her nerdom wholeheartedly.

Noree grew, but never left her love for fantasy and horror. Her dreams pushed her and her hand itched to write the visions she saw. So, with her fingers on the keys, she did what her heart had been telling her to do since childhood. She wrote.

Connect with Noree

About the Author

Cole Knightly writes horror and supernatural thrillers. His debut short story, Portrait of a Ghost, was released in November 2012. Cole has a Masters in Fine Art with a Creative Writing emphasis. He enjoys playing horror and survival video games, which is also where he gets a lot of his inspiration from.